302 - Welcome to the Real World
by hyperpsychomaniac
Summary: Kilobyte is nearing escape from the game and Rick is struggling to keep him contained; the programmer needs the help of a superhero to keep him there.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: **Next 'episode' in my attempt at a season 3. I promised myself I'd try to keep it (mostly) within the rating of the show. This one may push the boundaries. So just warning you, though I rate most of my stuff 'T' to cover myself, this one's T for a reason. Enjoy, and please review! :)

* * *

_It's out now, Pete. Ace, Sparx, everyone I guess… they all know they're a game. I have no idea how this is going to affect things. It doesn't make things any less dangerous. Perhaps it'll make it more so. At least Kilobyte is still in the game. I don't know for how long he'll stay there, but I can be sure of one thing; he's not going to get out anytime soon._

* * *

_Mark's House_

Mark leaned back in his computer chair with a sigh and clicked off the message for Pete. The amulet piece was once again around his neck, and he fingered it subconsciously. With a bit of effort he got himself up, turned off the light, and began to climb into bed.

And then his phone rang. Mark groaned, pausing for a minute on the edge of his bed. Then he reached out and grabbed the phone. "What…?"

"Mark! I need your help! Now!"

Mark blinked blearily. "Who is this…?"

"It's Rick!" the phone screeched back at him.

Mark froze. "Rick? How are you calling me from the sixth dimension? Wait… how do you even have my number?"

"Bloody… I'm not in the game! And I hacked your emails; you don't think I couldn't find your phone number? Don't your parents get you decent security software?"

"I don't think my parents have anything to do with… wait… you're not still in the game? How'd you get out? What about Kilobyte?"

"I thought I'd blocked him in! I thought I… but he's not out yet."

Mark stood to his feet and began to pace his bedroom floor. "So… wait… what's happening?"

"I'm trying to keep him in there… but I don't think I can do it without a bit of power to back me up. Get down here, call Ace… I… I need help…"

"Why should I?" Mark snapped. "You ruined my life!"

"Because Kilobyte will get free! Hurry up; I'm holding him back as best I can. If I can trap him he might not be able to get out again."

"You know, this wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't created him in the first place," Mark growled. "Okay, okay, fine. I'll call Ace. We'll be down there as soon we can." He clicked off the connection, and then dialled Ace.

The phone rang a few times before he got an answer. "Hello…" Ace's voice was light as he answered; it sounded as if he'd only just managed to stop himself laughing about something.

Mark grimaced. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Well… Lady Illusion and I were just…"

Mark held up a hand, though Ace couldn't see it. "Alright, I don't want to know. This is important anyway. I need you to fly down to the main street… there's a store there called Rick's Computer Shack…"

"Kid, I'm not running errands for you at midnight."

"No!" Mark growled. "This is about the Master Programmer. He escaped the sixth dimension. He's there now, and Kilobyte…"

"The game you mean," Ace cut him short. "And if by 'Master Programmer' you mean that guy you were talking about who caused us all this trouble…"

"Ace!" Mark snapped. "Will you be quiet and listen to me? I don't like the guy any more than you do, but right now he's trying to keep Kilobyte in the game. He can't without our help. If Kilobyte gets out…"

"Yeah, I know, kid. It can't be good."

"Okay, so you're going?"

"Yeah, I'm going. You're right, we can't let Kilobyte get back out again. And I think I'd like to have a few words with this Master Programmer too…"

"Ace, he's just a human. Don't go…"

"Catch you later, kid." Ace cut the call short.

Mark glared at the phone in frustration. "Damn it, Ace..." he drew in a breath. "I'd better get down there in case he tries something stupid…"

Mark changed quickly and put on some shoes, and then flung open his cupboard door and riffled through the clothes there. Eventually, he found his wrist cannon. He slipped it on. "Well, hopefully I won't have to use this." Then he flung his door open and rushed the stairs.

"Mark!"

The sound of his mother's voice drew him to a halt.

"For goodness sakes, why do you need to make so much racket in the middle of the night…" Fiona blinked blearily. She stood in the hallway in her nightgown, staring at him sleepily, but then she frowned and seemed to wake herself up a bit more. "Mark… you weren't planning on going somewhere in the middle of the night?"

"Er… just the back yard, mum…"

Fiona folded her arms and looked her son up and down. "Oh, really?"

"I just need to…"

"There is no good place you can be sneaking off to in the middle of the night, mister. And if you march yourself back up to your bedroom right now, I won't ask you again where it was you were heading. Go on, back to bed…"

Mark groaned and slipped past his mother, looking at the floor and avoiding her gaze. He slunk back into his bedroom and shut the door. "Now what?" he muttered to himself. "At least she didn't see the wrist cannon."

"Lights off, now!" Fiona's voice easily penetrated the closed bedroom door.

Mark flicked the switch and sat down on the edge of his bed. There were no further orders from outside. He sighed and lay back on the bed. "I hope Ace can handle this…"

* * *

_Rick's Computer Shack_

"This better be worth it." Ace eyed the front of the building in the moonlight. But he had yet to enter. In truth, he was just a little bit nervous. He growled to himself and then pushed open the front door. "Hello?"

Steps led down into a basement store. Ace crept down these and looked about. The store appeared quiet. But there was a door in the back and from this came a purple glow. Ace approached cautiously and pushed the door. It resisted slightly so he pushed harder, and with a rather loud snap it popped open and slammed back into the wall.

At the centre of the room was a mass of computers, much bigger than the ones that Chuck had filled the Thunder Tower up with recently. At these sat a man, bent over and intently typing away at the keyboard. He didn't appear to have noticed the damage Ace had done to the door.

Ace stepped towards him and then paused. "So, you're this Master Programmer?"

Rick looked startled. "Good lord… where did you come from?"

"Through your door."

"Right okay, so Mark sent you. Okay, so you need to help me Kilobyte is getting closer and…"

"Woah, hang on a minute," Ace growled. "I haven't decided that I want to help you yet."

Rick paused at his typing then slowly turned around. He appeared legitimately surprised. "But… you're a superhero; you're supposed to help people…"

"Yeah, well I don't know about that anymore. Someone went and messed with my programming. Gave me human emotions for Zoar knows what reason. So when I find out something like, I don't know, everything I've worked for is just some child's game, I get a little bit ticked off." He leaned in towards Rick as he spoke, both hands on the open ends of the rig and blocking off any escape route. "And if I happen to find this 'Master Programmer' Mark told me about, I'm probably not going to be feeling like doing anything 'good' to him…"

Rick leaned back against the screens. "But… hey, look… I need your help. And… you don't have to call me Master Programmer… it's not like I think I'm your god or anything. Rick, call me Rick. But… Kilobyte… he's more important…"

Ace let out a sigh and leaned back. "Relax… Rick. I'm just scaring you. I feel like I should do something more to you, but maybe you're right, it's not in my programming."

"Oh…"

"So what have you gone and messed up this time?"

Rick moved aside so Ace could see the screen. "I tried to make sure he couldn't get out."

Kilobyte could be seen down in the depths of the portal. He was still making his way out, gripping onto the edges with his tentacles.

"But Kilobyte is too powerful. I'm trying everything I can to close the portal, but I can't with him inside it – he's too strong. I need to knock him out. So I need someone to blast him."

"Sounds simple enough."

"Yeah, here's hoping. But we need to wait until he's almost out. Otherwise the datastream will just absorb all the energy you shoot into it before it gets to Kilobyte." Rick turned back to his keyboard and began to type again.

"Okay… so that means we've got a few minutes to chat."

The clatter of keys faltered briefly. "No… I've got to… set this up…"

"Rick, you made the… characters of a video game think they were real. You brought them all here. I don't completely understand why."

Rick sighed. "You want to know why I created you?" He let out a short laugh. "Because I made a mistake, that's why. I'm an idiot, I could've gone and got another job, or held on to my program for a few more years until the technology and the idiots caught up, but no, I make monsters come to life and nearly bloody kill me… good thing I didn't work on _Grand Theft Auto_…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're a mistake; I never should have done this. But be grateful, otherwise you wouldn't exist…"

Ace opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. He let out a small sigh and looked at the floor.

"Ace… Ace!" Rick said suddenly.

"What?"

"He's closer than I thought! We've got to do this now!"

"What? Blast him?"

"Yes!" Rick pressed himself to the side of the rig. Kilobyte's face took up the whole screen. Tentacles gripped the screen's edge and began to emerge into the room.

Ace raised his wrist cannons and sent a massive blast of electrical energy into the rig.

Kilobyte let out a grunt and one of his tentacles slipped free.

"Come on, harder!"

"I'm not a bottomless pit you know!" Ace gathered himself and sent another blast into Kilobyte. He paused to gather his strength.

The rig suddenly sagged. Rick's eyes widened. "Oh, no!" He ducked to the floor and tried to squeeze past Ace's legs. But a tentacle shot out of the screen and grabbed him around his ankle.

Kilobyte materialised in front of the rig, bringing it twisting forward as his weight bent the aluminium frame.

Ace had to take a step back as there was instantaneously another almost seven feet of solid muscle in the room. He'd forgotten how big Kilobyte was, and the shock of him suddenly being there made him falter briefly and lower his wrist cannons.

"You think you can trick me, programmer!?" Kilobyte roared. He lifted Rick up in the air, dangling him by the ankle. "You worthless fool!" He tossed the man into the corner and then turned towards Ace.

Ace raised his wrist cannons, but Kilobyte was quicker. A tentacle whipped around and snapped across the room. It caught Ace under the jaw with a crack and he too was tossed back into the wall. His power dropped and the room began to spin.

* * *

_The Carnival of Doom_

"Well, I thought it was a good idea at the time, milord."

Lord Fear closed the door to the Haunted House behind him, slumped back against it and let out a sigh. "As did I, my loyal staff."

From outside came a loud wail, followed by the sound of sobbing.

"But it appears the news has not been received well."

Outside the Haunted House, the rest of Fear's Evils stood in a confused huddle. Pigface was in the centre of them all, sitting slouched in the grass, and sobbing into his great big paws.

"Googler's not real? But… oh… I had so much fun googling…"

"Yeah…" threw in the Rat. "What have we been wasting all our time finding pieces of the amulet for then?"

Duff was looking around at everyone rather sheepishly. "Gee, guys… I really feel for ya. But being real isn't all it's cracked up to be…"

"Yeah… " the Rat sniffed. "You're real, and you're still a loser."

"Hey! Just because you're upset doesn't mean you can go around insulting people!"

Rat sniffed again. "Oh, Duff. You've always been good to me, taught me about money… I'm sorry…" Suddenly he had flown across and thrown himself around the man's neck.

Duff's eyes widened. "Er… there, there, little buddy…"

"Rotgut could use a hug too!" The zombie began to lumber towards Duff.

Duff had had enough hugs. He started backing away with the Rat still struggling to hold onto him. "Wait, wait a minute guys…"

Anvil thudded his weighted hand into the ground, successfully distracting anyone else from looking to Duff for comfort. "Anvil does not care if he is not real!" he roared. "Anvil likes to smash things! Anvil still likes to smash things! He will keep on smashing things!" And with that he stuck his nose into the air and stomped away from his companions.

Rat sniffed again and pulled away from Duff a little sheepishly. "Maybe that big oaf is right…"

"But Pigface don't like smashing!" Pigface wailed.

"No, you idiot!" said the Rat. "We're real now, right?"

"Real enough…" muttered Duff. He'd removed his outer jacket and was frowning at it. Rat had left a big damp patch on his shoulder.

"Maybe we can still do what we do…"

"Which is?" said Duff.

"Pigface all hungry now."

"Piggy eats," said Rat. "And, um… well, maybe we just need to figure it out…"

"Googler googles!"

"Whatever the hell that is," said Duff, rolling his eyes. "I tell you what I do, I sleep. And I'm going to do that now…"

"Oh, no, Duffy!" the Rat flew in front of him. "You're used to this real stuff. You're going to help us."

"Oh. Wonderful."


	2. Chapter 2

_The Thunder Tower_

It was only a short while after Ace had left that Sparx made her way back into the Thunder Tower. She slouched and shuffled into the building to find Lady Illusion sprawled across their only sofa, flicking through channels on the old TV set with a steadily growing frown of confusion.

"This thing was a lot safer earlier on in the evening…" she said almost to herself. And then she noticed Sparx. "Oh… you're back. I thought you were Ace."

"Nup." Sparx folded her arms. "So, did you mean it?"

"What?"

"What you said earlier. Or was that just a show for the blonde wonder?"

Lady Illusion sighed. "No, I meant every word. There is no reason for us to fight."

"I suppose not. And Lord Fear?"

"I meant that too. I have no intention of crawling back to that creep."

Sparx nodded. "Alright then." She sighed, and then with a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face moved to the free side of the sofa and sat down. "Did Ace talk to you?"

"About the… game? Yes, he did."

"So how's that work for the evil side of things?"

Lady Illusion frowned. "What do you mean? You still think of me as 'evil'? I'm here, aren't I?"

Sparx let out a sigh. "Zoar, I don't know. I suppose it doesn't really matter anymore, everything being not real. You just seem pretty intent on staying. I figure that means I've got to live with you, so we might as well learn to talk to each other without resorting to blasting."

Lady Illusion's shoulders slumped. "That would be a good idea."

"So… yeah… sorry for all the blasting and the spider-head comments…"

"Can't believe I fell for that one."

There was a brief silence.

"So…" Sparx tried again. "Lord Fear…"

Lady Illusion tensed. "I'd prefer if we didn't talk about Fear. He… he wasn't really pleased after I helped out Ace; last time he was defeated. When I thought… you and Ace… I went back to Fear. And he wasn't pleased. He… made me regret what I'd done to him." She glanced quickly at Sparx. "I don't know why I'm telling you this."

Sparx stared at her for a moment. "Well," she finally shrugged. "I was just going to say I agree. I mean, I don't know him as well as you do. But he is a creep. And a jerk-face. But I've always found they're the most fun to blast."

Lady Illusion gave a faint smile. "Probably, but I'm not sure I'm powerful enough."

"Tell you what… rather than fighting with each other… let's find that old bonehead and give him a good blasting. I'm still ticked off at Ace for telling Fear about the game first, but I can't go zapping Ace because then you'll have to avenge him and I think we've already agreed we're going to avoid fighting with each other. So it's the only logical solution."

Lady Illusion eyed her warily. "You and I… it would even the power ratios."

"Exactly," Sparx jumped to her feet. "It'll be the perfect girls' night out."

* * *

_Rick's Computer Shack_

Ace was only unconscious for the briefest of moments. He pushed himself to his feet. Kilobyte had moved away from him, over to where Rick was cowering in the corner.

"I should rip you to shreds," Kilobyte growled.

Rick wrapped his arms around his head and whimpered.

"Hey!" said Ace. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Kilobyte turned his head slightly and sneered at Ace. "My fight is not with you, Lightning."

"Yeah?" said Ace. He adjusted a wrist cannon. "Well, you could've fooled me."

Kilobyte sighed. "You got in my way last time. Not that you could help it; it was all part of your programming. And mine. If this fool had had more sense he should have sent me after that mortal boy you hang around with, rather than you."

Ace's jaw tensed. "Leave this man alone."

Kilobyte took a half step back from Rick. "You don't know what's going on here, Lightning. But, as I have just said, my fight is not with you. So if you'd like to stop playing the part of the superhero for a few minutes and listen to me, I'll explain it to you. Think you can manage that?"

Ace lowered his wrist cannons. "I might know more than you think. But… if you leave Rick alone for the moment I'll hear you out."

Kilobyte's lips curled into a lopsided smile. "Oh, you're on first-name basis? How sweet. But be careful. This is a more cunning enemy than any you've ever faced. He controlled me and used me, and if he has made any promises to you I wouldn't trust them. Lord Fear and I? We are but poor reflections of what some of these mortals are capable of."

"That hasn't been my experience. But I'll keep it in mind."

Kilobyte growled deep in his throat, but did not reply. "Programmer," he snapped. "Get to your feet. You've been bought a few minutes to live, at the least. And you may be required to give some answers yourself. Get up!"

Rick scrambled to his feet and retreated to the safety of his computer chair.

"Now," Kilobyte turned back to Ace. "What is it that you think you know?"

Ace drew in a breath and did his best to stare unflinchingly up at Kilobyte's towering form. "I know that I'm from a video game. And that this man was responsible for bringing it all to life."

Kilobyte frowned. "I see. And yet you protect him? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Ace snapped. "I've just got a bit more experience with mortals than you do."

"Really?"

"Look, all you've seen of them is this guy. I don't know much about that, but I'm not particularly happy with what he put us through…"

"You don't get it, I lost my job…" Rick stuttered.

"Shut up!" Kilobyte barked.

"Whatever part of the game you came from…"

"No!" Kilobyte snapped. "I came from no part of the game. This programmer…" He turned around and raised a tentacle.

"You said you'd leave him alone…"

"So stop me, Lightning." The tentacle wound its way around Rick, but kept a few feet away, wrapping the man in twists and turns, but never quite touching him. "He created me specifically to destroy you. He had complete control of me for months. He made me give you those human emotions, you know. He controlled every action and reaction of mine like I were just some puppet…"

"I'm sorry…" Rick cringed away from the circling tentacle.

"Look how he cowers and cries when he's brought out of the dark and has to face his demons? And he creates me so I fear the light?" The tentacle was withdrawn with a sharp snap.

"That's what he did to you?" Ace paused, watching Rick.

"Yes, but I'm free now."

"So you can make your own choices?"

"Yes. As you too should be able, Lightning. This is why I have decided to give you, all of you, a chance to see what it is we face here. You and I, we aren't so different."

"You tried to enslave the mortals in the sixth dimension… in the game… was that after Rick lost control?"

"They deserved it!"

"They're not all like Rick!"

"And yet you protect him? Try and think outside your programming! We are both constructs of these mortal minds. We are both designed to do their bidding."

"So we should just destroy every single one of them?"

"I never destroyed any of them. I imprisoned them, as this mortal did to me. Besides, they've left us no other choice."

Ace shook his head. "No, Kilobyte. You're the one who doesn't understand what's going on. Ignore this programmer for a minute, and _you_ listen to _me_."

Kilobyte folded his arms and leaned back against the rig. It sagged again, but he didn't seem perturbed. "Alright, Lightning. It's interesting. Even after all the fear I implanted in you you're able to stand up to me. I can see it's still there. You flinch every time I get near you. No, I'm not insulting you. I'm impressed. You still play close to your programming, but you're not bound by it. I wouldn't waste my time with you otherwise. But, go on."

Ace momentarily lost his train of thought. He swallowed. "The mortals. They've not all like Rick. The ones I know… they've saved my skin more times than I can count. They're… my friends. Mark… Mark has always been there for me when I need him. I know he would never do a thing to hurt me."

"The boy who purchased the programmer's tainted copy of the game? Perhaps. But he played you. Like a puppet."

"Before we came here. He didn't know."

Kilobyte growled. "Well, you certainly seem convinced. I have seen these mortals as the wander about that Carnival. They certainly seem harmless enough. But I am not so easily fooled. I would bet that with the right motivation that child would betray you in an instant to save his own flesh."

Ace shook his head. "Look, let's just leave Mark out of it. You're wrong though. He's one of the good guys; he wouldn't."

Kilobyte smiled. "Now you're thinking within your programming again. With these mortals there are no good guys and bad guys. Rick!" he shouted suddenly.

The man jumped at the mention of his name and actually fell off of his chair. "What?"

Kilobyte rolled his eyes. "Are you a good guy, or a bad guy?"

Rick stared at him blankly from the floor. "I…"

"Answer me!"

"I… I… neither! I'm just a programmer!"

"You see, Lightning? You don't know what they will be next."

Rick shuffled himself back across the floor towards his chair. Something glinted silver and caught his eye. Sitting on the floor was a disc with 'Kilobyte Control Disc' scrawled on it in black permanent market. Rick's eyes widened. He glanced at Kilobyte then back at the disc. He slid out his foot and then drew it back, the disc and a few loose bit of paper were drawn towards him, and then his hand closed around the disc and he slipped it into his pants pocket.

* * *

_Mark's House_

Mark stared across at the glowing numbers of his bedside clock.

01:07

He groaned and sat up in bed. He was still in his clothes, though he had slipped off his shoes. He paused, and listened. The house was quiet; all he could hear was the faint rustle of the wind blowing through the trees outside.

He glanced at his clock again.

01:09

"Dammit…" he muttered. "I'm going to be grounded for sure." The boy slipped on his shoes, then paused at his bedroom door. He frowned, and then headed back across the room to his window. He slid it open quietly and then looked down at the ground. "It's not that far, really…"

Mark climbed onto the window frame shakily, and then turned himself around. He gripped the edges of the frame and let his shoes grip the outside wall and then started to slide them down. The soles of his shoes squeaked and he winced. Now he was hanging by his fingertips, but still several feet above the ground.

"Oh, man…" he let out a rather unmanly whimper as his fingers lost their grip and landed first on his feet, then he toppled over backwards onto the concrete. He stared up at the night sky for a moment, and then upon realising he wasn't seriously hurt, stood up and dusted himself off. He looked around as if he feared someone may have seen him. "Nothing to it."

His parent's bedroom light hadn't come on. He hadn't disturbed them. Mark jogged around to the garage door, paused, and then groaned. "How am I supposed to get my bike… no…" With a sigh, Mark turned towards the centre of town, drew in a breath, and then began to jog down the street.


	3. Chapter 3

_The Carnival of Doom _

"So what now?"

Sparx and Lady Illusion stood in the Carnival midway. All appeared quiet for the moment but they were both tensed, surveying the scene.

"Well, I usually just find someone to blast. Usually isn't too hard."

"I'm not used to doing it from this side…"

"Relax, we'll have you in a uniform in no time."

Lady Illusion frowned.

"Too soon?"

"Yes, I do have some pride."

Something crashed off to the side of the midway. Sparx and Lady Illusion followed the sound, and found Pigface rooting through a pile of trash. He was snuffling something shocking and taking great gulps from one of the garbage cans. "Pigface not like to be told he not real. Pigface eating but it not making him feel better!" The oversized hog let out a wail.

"When you said blast the first thing you saw…"

"Yeah," Sparx frowned. "We'd better leave this one alone."

They crept away from the sobbing swine and made their way across the Carnival.

"You see, if you use your, er, talents we can make more money and then everyone's happy." Duff Kent stood in front of his caravan with a badly lit whiteboard. This was covered in squiggles and a couple of dollar signs. In front of him the Rat, Googler, and Rotgut sat on the grass looking up at him expectantly. "Googler can do puppet shows. And Rat if you help out with the finances…"

"Oh," the Rat sighed. "I'm not programmed for finances!"

"No way, little buddy! I'm sure you'd do a great job!"

Sparx drew in a breath and pulled herself back to the side of the sideshow booth next to Lady Illusion. "Jeesh… and I thought I was taking this bad…"

Lady Illusion didn't seem to hear her. She was staring down the midway to the front of the Haunted House. Lord Fear stood outside, leaning on Staff Head. He was looking out over the Carnival with an air of a man surveying his domain.

Lady Illusion took a step back and bumped into Sparx.

"Hey, his backup's depressed and distracted. This'll be a snap. I've got your back."

Lady Illusion paused. "Do you? Or is this just…" she cut herself short and frowned at Sparx suspiciously.

"No, I wouldn't do that to Ace."

Lady Illusion nodded. "Alright then." She drew in a breath and then morphed out.

"Well, they haven't destroyed the Carnival, my lord. That's something to be grateful for. I'm sure they will come around. And then we can begin looking for the amulet…"

Lord Fear let out a sigh. "Yes. We could. But is that really what we need to do?"

"My lord?"

"Perhaps my Evils have the right idea; perhaps our priorities need to be rethought."

Staff Head opened his mouth to say something more but a flash of light distracted him. Lady Illusion morphed into existence on the edge of the Haunted House steps.

Lord Fear drew in a gasp. "Lady Illusion! You're back!"

Illusion drew herself up. "Yes, I… I am. But I am not here to beg your forgiveness…"

"Forgiveness? Oh, Illusion! It is I who must beg yours!"

Lady Illusion blinked. "I… what?"

"Yes, what?" Staff Head scowled.

"I had no intention of blasting you! I thought you were Lightning!"

"You blasted me plenty of times before that!" Lady Illusion snapped. One of her hands balled into a fist. "Are you trying to tell me you were mistaken then too?"

"I… yes, I mean… no… that was different. But I would never really send you back to the sixth dimension." Fear had moved closer to her. He reached out a hand. "Snookums, you must believe me."

Illusion recoiled slightly, but she did not back down. "I have no intention of believing you ever again." She produced a sphere of energy, and before Fear could react flicked it across the few feet that separated them. It smashed into his chest and exploded, sending him to the ground gasping.

Lord Fear coughed. Then he looked up, his eyes blazing. "You attack me? You ungrateful…" He whipped up Staff Head and fired a blast.

Lady Illusion dodged it and then threw another energy sphere. Fear flicked it away with his staff. A flurry of green energy and bombs went off in quick succession. The smoke cleared briefly and left Illusion standing panting, and Fear down on one knee. A look of slight panic had come into his eyes.

"Let's blast her, my lord!"

Fear gathered himself and held up his staff and fired a blast.

Lady Illusion morphed out, reappeared behind him, and threw a bomb into his back.

Fear gasped and rolled over. "You hit a man in the back?"

Illusion raised an eyebrow. "It seemed on par with blasting a lady."

Fear drew in a breath, but then his eyes focused on something behind Lady Illusion. "Alright, alright… I admit it, my dear. I went too far…"

From behind Lady Illusion came a roar. She spun around to find Anvil right behind her with his arm raised.

"Anvil will keep smashing everything!"

And then a blast of pink lightning shot past her and hit Anvil in the chest. It knocked him back, and he roared, eventually breaking him down to nothing and he disappeared.

"Hey there, ya bucket of bones. Surprised to see me?" Sparx grinned down from her perch in the air on the Lightning Flash.

Staff Head glanced between the two women. "Okay. Now I'm confused."

"Hey, what's going on?" The Rat flew around the corner. "We're trying to have a pity party over here!"

Rotgut and Googler had appeared from around the corner as well. They were blinking sluggishly at the scene before them, but there was no guarantee they'd stay so docile.

"Alright, Lady, time to wrap this up. Let's get out of here."

"I no longer work for you, Fear," said Lady Illusion. "Bother me again, and I'll do more than shoot you in the back." She gave Fear one last glare, and then morphed out.

"Things I do for you, Ace," Sparx said quietly. And then she zipped the Lightning Flash low over the Carnival and tore off into the night.

* * *

_Rick's Computer Shack_

"You can't seriously think these mortals care about you."

"You can't seriously think imprisoning them all is the answer."

Kilobyte and Ace glared at each other from across the room.

"Well, what is it you expect from me?!" Ace eventually snapped at the brief silence. "You can't seriously think I'll join you."

"Why not?"

"Because I won't do that."

Kilobyte huffed. "I will do this with or without you, Lightning. Think about it. You've been wronged. Do right fear not. It's the right thing to fix that wrong."

"Quoting from video games, Kilobyte? Seem a bit childish."

Kilobyte smirked. "You're actually growing on me, Lightning."

Behind Kilobyte, Rick made a movement. Ace glanced at him briefly and then turned his attention back at Kilobyte. "Look, I understand where you're coming from. But maybe we just need to talk to the mortals. Surely we could work out something with them…"

"I doubt it."

Rick glanced back at Ace. He seemed to decide what he was doing and drew in a breath. From his pocket he produced the disc, and slipped it into the computer.

"If they're anything like this, programmer," Kilobyte glanced over his shoulder.

Rick blinked at him innocently as if to say 'who, me?' and swung his chair from side to side.

Kilobyte sneered and turned back to Ace. "They'll just turn on you the first chance they get. This one was supposed to get me out of the game, but instead he pulls himself out and nearly locks me in there forever."

"You did kidnap him, Kilobyte. They don't like that."

Rick suddenly spun his chair around and all but attacked his keyboard, his fingers a flurry of movement.

Kilobyte whirled back around. "What are you doing, you…" He got no further.

Ace hurled himself bodily at the monstrosity. They both bounced off the corner of the rig and fell to the floor. Kilobyte roared and tossed Ace off. And then he froze.

"Ha! Yes!" Rick threw his hands into the air.

Kilobyte was still on the floor. He was drawing in deep breaths, and his eyes looked to Rick with almost a hint of fear.

"What did you do?" Ace pulled himself to his feet. He stared at the rather subdued version of Kilobyte.

Rick let out a pent up sigh. "It's a control disc. He's under my control again. Can't hurt me. Can't hurt you… unless I tell him to."

Ace looked at Rick sharply.

"Relax, I owe you one. Or two." He shrugged.

Kilobyte stood back up, but he made no move that hinted at impending violence. "You're a fool, Lightning," he growled.

"Ah, bit of fight still in him. It's to be expected. He had a good bit of free reign for a while. But not anymore, Kilobyte."

"I'll tear you limb from…"

"Shut up," Rick said calmly.

Kilobyte fell silent.

Rick grinned at Ace. "Look at that, complete control. Thank God. Not so fun being the one at my mercy, huh, Kilobyte?"

"Is this necessary?" Ace asked.

Rick snorted. He rubbed his side. "Pretty sure I've got bruises under here thanks to this guy. Yeah, it's necessary. How would you like to be squeezed and slapped about…" He glared at Kilobyte, and then turned back to his keyboard. "Maybe you should learn what it feels like…"

Kilobyte's tentacles began to snake out. One twisted itself around in the air and then snapped back to hit its owner with such force that he stumbled back and had to support himself with one hand against the wall.

"Rick…" Ace growled.

"Not fun, is it?"

Another tentacle whipped around with a mind of its own and flipped under Kilobyte's legs, bringing him crashing to the ground.

"Rick, stop it." Ace's hands had tensed into fists with a strain that went right across his shoulders.

"I think you choked me at one stage too…"

A tentacle crawled up Kilobyte's shoulder and began to wrap around his neck. It tightened, and though Kilobyte gritted his teeth, he still let out an involuntary grunt.

"Rick! I said stop it!" Ace stepped up and shoved the man aside so heavily he crashed into the side of the rig. Ace reached for the slot he'd seen the disc go into and pressed the eject button.

"No, don't do that…" Rick pushed himself up and wiped at a trickle of blood that had started from his nose. "Gee, thanks…"

Ace put one hand against the side of the rig, and then leaned right into Rick's face, almost pinning him to the computers with his body. He held up the disc he had removed in the other hand. When he spoke his voice was cold. "You do not control us. You don't control me. You don't control _him. _You have no right to manipulate us like this. So pack up your computers and leave, Rick!" He lifted the disc and slapped it against the edge of the rig, snapping it into two pieces.

"Wait..." Rick's eyes widened and he grabbed at a piece of the broken disc. "No, you got to put it back in…"

Behind them, Kilobyte rose up in the darkness. "You pathetic…" the rest of his words were lost in an animalistic grow. Tentacles flung forward and flicked Ace to the side.

Ace fell to the floor with a grunt.

Rick was lifted from the ground by a tentacle that was snaking loop upon loop upon loop around his chest and waist. "No! Put me down!"

"Kilobyte!" said Ace. "It's just anger, you can control it…"

Kilobyte didn't even appear to hear him. "I will make you pay!" he growled. Then he squeezed.

Rick's body contorted as the tentacle was drawn taut. The sound of multiple cracks was all but drowned out by the scream that tore from the man's throat.

"Kilobyte!" Ace shouted again, grabbing the monster's arm.

Kilobyte's grip on Rick suddenly slackened. He stared up at the limp, still whimpering form he clutched. Then he drew back the tentacle from around the man as if he'd been burned.

Ace stepped forward and caught Rick before he crashed to the floor.

"You fool!" Kilobyte snarled. "I still needed you!" Without a backward glance he turned and hurried out through the door.

Rick was drawing in short, rapid breaths that rattled in his throat. Ace took him and laid him against the back wall. "Are you alright…"

Rick looked up at him. His eyes were clouded and there were tears squeezing from them. "Can't… breathe…"

"Hang on… I'll call Mark…"

Rick grabbed weakly at the knight's jacket sleeve. "Ace…" He drew in a ragged breath. "You saw… right? I tried… to stop him…"

"Yeah," Ace said, putting a hand over Rick's. "I saw."

"I'm… sorry…" The final word caught in the man's throat, along with his last breath. Rick stared past Ace with unseeing eyes.

* * *

Mark's breath was clouds of mist in the early morning air. He approached the computer shop panting, but not cold. He'd run far enough. It was as he placed a hand on the shop's outer door and began to push it open that he heard the scream. He froze.

There was no other sound. "I didn't… I didn't imagine that…" Mark said. His hand shook as he pushed open the door and quietly crept into the darkened shop. He moved across the floor.

The door to Rick's 'fortress' was suddenly flung open. Kilobyte stomped across the room. "Out of my way, mortal!"

Mark dove to the side and pressed himself against a desk. But Kilobyte did not pause. His way was now unblocked, and he moved past and out the front door without acknowledging Mark further.

"Oh no… he's back…" And then a thought struck him. "Ace!" Mark rushed into the back room. "Ace, are you okay?"

Mark found Ace kneeling next to Rick's unmoving body. He had a hand out, gently shaking the man by the shoulder. "Rick… Rick?"

"What happened?" Mark stared opened mouth.

Ace looked up at him. "Kid? I didn't…"

"It's okay… I … I saw Kilobyte…" Mark moved past Ace and took his place kneeling next to Rick. "I'm going to have to call an ambulance…" He reached out his hand and shook Rick's shoulder. Then he frowned and pressed two fingers into the man's neck. He drew in a breath. "Oh God…" He stood to his feet, stepping backwards far too quickly and bumped up against Ace's chest. "He's dead."

Ace put his hands on Mark's shoulders. "That means… he's stopped for good, right?"

"Yeah…"

"What… what do we do?"

"We…" Mark drew in a breath. "We do nothing. You go back to the Thunder Tower. I can handle this."

Ace was staring at Rick. "I can't abandon you… "

"Ace!" Mark snapped. "This is mortal… human stuff! I have to call 911. You can't be here when the cops get here, alright?"

Ace looked at him blankly.

"Go on! I'll be fine."

Ace nodded and flew out the door.

Mark pulled out his phone and stared at the number pad. Then he drew in a breath and punched the numbers far too hard before putting the phone shakily to his ear.

* * *

Kilobyte walked down the darkened streets, for the moment, not focused on where he headed. His hands were balled into fists and his teeth gritted. He was not perturbed by the distant sound of sirens.

But then another softer sound drew his attention. A faint buzzing.

Kilobyte turned as Fred landed behind him. The giant mutant wasp turned its head to the side and made a chirping noise.

Kilobyte smiled faintly. "Ah, my pet." He stroked a hand along the creature's head.

Fred turned its head to the side quizzically, and chirped again.

Kilobyte sighed. "Yes, I have missed you. But… I have made a grave error. I will need to rethink my plans. So forgive me if I do not seem cheerful." He stroked the creature again and then climbed onto its back. "It seems these… emotions… are more penetrating than I thought. The programmer may have made me give Ace Lightning them all in one hit, but they also appear to be something that is infiltrating us all. I will have to be… more cautious… in the future."

He urged his steed on and they climbed up into the air.

* * *

_The Thunder Tower _

When Ace returned to the Thunder Tower both Sparx and Lady Illusion were next to each other on the sofa, talking. This should have either confused or thrilled him, or both.

"I'm pretty sure you scared the Oblivion out of him," Sparx snickered. She glanced over the back of the sofa, catching sight of Ace as he arrived. "Hey, Ace man. Now don't freak out… hey… you look like you need to power up, are you okay?"

Ace landed on the ground next to the telescope and put out a hand against it. He didn't look as if he'd heard her; his gaze was far away.

Lady Illusion stood quickly to her feet. "Ace…" She moved across the room to him and reached out and took his arm. "What's wrong?"

Ace wasn't quite focused. But at Lady Illusion's touch he looked at her. His voice was faint as he spoke. "I think I just killed a mortal."

* * *

_Rick's Computer Shack_

Mark sat on one of the desks in the front room of the computer shop. Someone had given him a police jacket several sizes too large for him, which he had slung over his shoulders. The boy hadn't really noticed who. The shop was a flurry of activity, mostly focused on the back room. In and out went people in police uniforms.

Someone sat down beside him, and it made him jump. Everything was making him jump. The policewoman smiled from beside him, but it wasn't entirely friendly. "So, do you want to tell me what you were doing here in the middle of the night, alone?"

Mark opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat. "I…"

She gave him no chance whatsoever to finish. "Maybe that's a good idea, son. Maybe you shouldn't say anything. I'll tell you what. I've got to go back to the station. Why don't you come back with me? When we get there we can call your parents."

Mark found his voice then. "Wait, can't… can't I just go home?"

The woman glanced briefly at the back room. "I'm afraid not."

"But I didn't…"

"Son," she rested a hand on a shoulder and gave him a look that was kinder than her previous smile. "It'd be a good idea if you didn't say anything until we've called your parents."

* * *

_'Do right and fear not'. Well, sometimes when you do what you think is right it comes back and bites you. And maybe fear would be a good idea, or at least caution. You don't know where your choices will lead you._

_Maybe I did do the right thing, but it still got me in trouble. I've had to lie to the police and sign statements I know aren't true. Sure, I didn't see what happened. But I certainly wasn't sneaking over to my girlfriend's place and heard something I shouldn't have. But how am I supposed to explain going to a computer shop in the middle of the night? _

_And Ace tried to do what he thought was right. But he couldn't keep Kilobyte in the game. He tried to help Kilobyte, and it backfired. He tried to save Rick, and he failed. And Rick… I don't know what Rick did. But whatever it was he didn't deserve to die._

_So sometimes you try to do the right thing, like tell your best friend in England what really happened. But maybe you're too scared to do that because you can't say it face to face, and if it's on your computer the cops who already think your story's suspicious will find it, so you just sit there and talk to a blank screen…_

_THE END_


End file.
